🕰️ Antique Research — Step-by-Step

Discover the value of antiques worldwide.

Simple tools help you identify, price, and verify your finds — fast and free.

Practice: Pick one antique and run it through these steps.

1 🔎 Correct ID 🔗 - [ i ]

TL;DR: Free AI apps can identify most items in minutes.

How It Works:

Fast AI apps can recognize antiques and show key details such as style, era, and approximate value. Always cross-check results in auction archives, price guides, or with specialists before relying on them.

Try:

• Google Lens App 🔗 :
  

1. 1. 🎥 Demo: Local 3 News / YouTube (2 min)🔗
   2. 🎥 Demo: Tech for Senior / YouTube (6 min) 🔗
      

• Discovery Demos:

1. 1. AI Apps: Point, Shoot, and Identify
   2. Correct ID

⚙️ Editor’s Note — Identification Apps (Testing Experience)

In our tests, Google Lens and several other apps listed in this guide performed well at identifying general details. They’re excellent for collecting clues, keywords, and terms you can reuse in auction-archive searches.

However, no app should replace a hands-on examination. Inspecting an item up close helps you capture crucial data — maker labels, signatures, markings, serial numbers, and materials — that an app may overlook.

Apps sometimes make mistakes or miss important information. Treat them as a strong starting point, not the final word — especially for rare or high-value items. Always confirm key details with reputable specialists before making appraisal or sale decisions.

(Links are not endorsements. Experiences may vary by device, region, or version.)

Tips:

• Don’t clean — photograph items in soft, neutral light.
• Shoot multiple angles and close-ups of labels, marks, and edges.
• Save your best screenshots in a folder; you’ll need them in Step 2.

AI Prompt Example:
 
“Extract and analyze this information: (paste screenshots). Identify likely country, era, materials, and 3 catalog matches.”

Pro Tip:

Save your strongest matches — you’ll use these screenshots again in Step 2 → Selling Prices.

2 🔎 Selling Prices - [ i ]

TL;DR: Focus on what sold — not what’s listed.

How It Works:

Once your antique is identified, compare realized (sold) prices instead of asking prices. Realized results reflect the true market and help you spot trends, premiums, and outliers.

Start with:

1. Auction archives (tools)
2. Price guides (info)

Tips:

• Save good matches — include venue • date • grade • hammer + fees.
• Capture screenshots for your research folder.
• Use recent sales (ideally within 24 months) for the most accurate snapshot.

AI Prompt Example:  

“Build a table of realized prices for the attached (screenshots), ideally from the past 24 months. Include venue, date, and condition. Explain differences between high and low results and note any factors that may have influenced pricing.”

Pro Tip:

Look for repeat sales of the same antique type.
If prices rose or fell sharply, note possible reasons — condition, market demand, or sale dates — for later comparison in Step 3 → Ballpark Values.

3 🔎 Ballpark Values - [ i ] 

TL;DR: Create three quick estimates to outline your antique’s potential range.

How It Works:

After gathering realized prices, estimate a low, typical, and high value for your antique. This gives you a snapshot of the market range before contacting specialists.

Estimate Levels:

• Low Value: Yard-sale or quick-sale price — check Consumer Reports 🔗
• Typical Value: Median of comparable realized prices at your estimated condition.
• High Value: Top sale in the next higher condition or rarer variety (briefly note why).

Tips:

• Record your assumptions — condition, variety, provenance.
• Keep notes on where each value came from.
• Verify uncertain data using more than one source.

AI Prompt Example:

“Analyze the attached (screenshots) and recent sale data. Provide low, typical, and high value estimates based on current market conditions. State all assumptions, including condition, variety, and provenance.”

Pro Tip:

Cross-check results using multiple AI platforms — GPT, Grok, Gemini, etc. — and ask them to analyze one another’s data for consistency. Significant differences can reveal market volatility or missing details worth investigating before proceeding to Step 4 → Specialty Appraisers.

If your antique shows a wide value gap, note possible reasons (age, restoration quality, or provenance) to revisit later with a specialist.

4 🔎 Specialty Appraisers - [ i ]

TL;DR: Vet first — then email several specialists politely to compare.

How It Works:

Once your antique is identified and priced, reach out to reputable appraisers or specialists for confirmation. Comparing a few opinions helps ensure accurate evaluation and fair pricing.

Checklist:

✅ Credentials confirmed [ Steps ] 
✅ Area of specialization 
✅ Turnaround time
✅ Clear explanation of fees

Email Template:  

Subject: Appraisal Inquiry — <Antique Details>

Hello <Name>,

I’m researching a <brief description>. Photos (front, back, sides, labels, or markings) and measurements are attached.

Could you please confirm if this type of antique fits your specialty, and share your fees, turnaround time, and a ballpark value estimate?

Thank you for your time and expertise.  

<Your Name> · <City/Country>

Tips:  

• Keep your inquiry short and professional.
• Avoid attaching too many images — 4 clear photos are usually enough.
• Ask whether they provide written reports or digital confirmations.
• Save all responses in one folder for easy comparison later.

Pro Tip:

When possible, contact at least two or three appraisers. Differences in their evaluations can highlight grading nuances or overlooked details before you decide where to consign or sell your antique in Step 5 → Specialty Selling Venues.

5 🔎 Specialty Selling Venues - [ i ]

TL;DR: Match the right selling venue to your antique’s audience, fees, and timeline.

How It Works:

Once your antique is identified, valued, and verified, choose a marketplace or auction house that fits its type and value range. Different venues specialize in different items — knowing which one to use can save time and maximize return.

Compare: fees • audience • timeline • reserve policy.

Pre‑sale checklist:
🪙 ID and variety confirmed
📸 High-resolution photos (front, back, sides)
📜 Provenance notes (if known)
📄 Written terms (fees, reserve, insurance)

Tips:

• Always review the consignment agreement before shipping or listing.
• Keep detailed records of correspondence and terms.
• Ask about payment timelines and any seller protection offered.

AI Prompt Example: 
“Compare several venues based on fees, audience reach, and average sale time. Recommend the best match for the attached (antique details) and summarize pros and cons for each.”

Pro Tip:

If your antique is particularly rare or high-value, contact a specialty auction house for guidance. Their expertise can confirm authenticity and attract serious buyers.

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Companion Worksheet

Purpose:

Use this simple worksheet to organize your research and record what you’ve discovered when researching multiple items. It’s a hands-on way to document your process and build your own antique reference log.

Setup:

1. Gather your items
2. Set up a clean, well-lit workspace.
3. Keep a magnifier or loupe ready.
4. Open your preferred AI assistant to help organize and summarize results.

• ID Log: markings, names, signatures, tool, notes)
• AI Use: prompt + result
• Values: (tool + approx. value)
• Reflection: what worked, what didn’t

Pro Tip:

Create a separate folder (digital or paper) for each antique. Label it clearly with name, style, and short description — this makes future updates or appraisals much easier.

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💡 Universal Refinement Tip — Make It Your Own

Everyone’s situation is different.
 The tools and steps shared here are meant as a starting point — not a finish line.

You’re encouraged to copy any section from this guide and run it through your preferred AI assistant — ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Claude, or others. Ask it to refine or adapt the process for your needs, location, or level of experience.

Use Guidelines:


This guide is provided for personal research and educational purposes. You’re welcome to adapt or refine it for your own learning, but please credit whatsellsbest.com if you share or quote sections publicly. Commercial use or redistribution of this content, in whole or in part, requires permission.

Example Prompts You Could Try:

• “Please adapt these antique research steps for my country.”
• “Can you simplify this worksheet for a beginner?”
• “List reputable antique specialists or appraisers in my region.”
• “Refine these steps for identifying antiques from photos.”

Pro Tip:

Using AI this way saves time, reduces guesswork, and helps you find resources tailored to your specific antiques and circumstances. It’s a simple way to collaborate with technology — while keeping discovery, curiosity, and learning at the heart of your treasure research journey.

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Legendary Finds

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✩ Legendary Treasures ✩

Antiques, 3 Finds, $35 Million

Hidden Treasures Found in Everyday Places

Some of the most astonishing 'treasures' aren’t buried underground — they’re hidden in plain sight. News reports have revealed remarkable antique finds in ordinary settings, from yard sales to scrap discoveries. By exploring the map, you can trace how different treasure eras, styles, and locations have shaped these unexpected finds.

Three legendary examples:

1. $500,000 for a yard-sale table
2. $2 million+ for a coin found in a collection
3. $33 million for a gold egg found at a scrap sale

Overlooked for years, these surprising discoveries show how valuable treasures can be—even when hiding in plain sight. Explore their story links and previews below the ad ☟

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3—Legendary Finds:

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1. 📰 Golden Egg Grail —$33 Million Fabergé Masterpiece Discovered at Scrap Sale 🔗 - CNN, 2015
   
   
2. 📰 Half Eagle Fortune—Millions for Rare 1854 $5 Gold Coin Found in Collection 🔗 - Smithsonian magazine, 2018
   
   
3. 📽️ Furniture Fortune—$541,000 for $25 Yard Sale Table 🔗 - PBS Antiques Roadshow / Youtube, 2020

✩ Previews ✩